Staffordshire Schools Football Association

The following girls will be invited to the final trial in September. We are grateful to all girls and their parents for their attendance and support during the trial process and it was really pleasing to see so many girls wanting to play County football.

After a great deal of deliberation the coaches have come up with a list of boys for the final trial which will be held in September. The standard of the triallists was extrememy high and selection was really difficult. The Association wish to thank all boys who took part and their parents for their support . It is very difficult to make choices in short periods of time but it is the only viable method available to the Association. Details and venue for the trial in September will be posted on the website in due course.

Manager Neil Davies has named th boys below as his squad for the forthcoming season. Once again the quality of the boys at the trials made selection really difficult and he thanks all boys for their attendance and hard work during the process. Commiserations to those who missed out and congratulations to the boys tasked with trying to win the MCF again.

Staffs County Under 15 Boys Squad Season 2019/20

George Lenton

George Taylor

Euan Wade

Mason Pickering

Lewis Hassall

Matt Cutler

Sol Ashworth

Todd Alcock

Alfie Clarke

Rafferty Winnall

Archie England

Will Finlay

Kyle Corns

Ruben Cooner

Jack Bostock

James Plant

James Miller

Ben Runacas

Adam Cockbill

Ben Herrington

Standby Players

Henry Hadgett

Dako Vujcic

Eammon Clowes

Jake Morgan

Josh Onions

Jensen Peake (Injured)

Information regarding games etc will appear on the website in due course.

Tha Association wish to thank all boys and parents who took part in the process for their efforts.

Apologies for the error but tonight's trial at Brocton is the second U14 Boys trials not the U15's as stated. The U15's have finished the trial process and the squad will be published on the website today.

Once agin apologies for the error.

Tomorrow night there are again three trials running. The Under 14 Boys second trial is taking place at Brocton FC, Silkmore Lane, Stafford with a 6-00pm start. Another 40 boys will be trying to secure a place in the final trial in September.

At Stafford Town FC the Under 16 Girls will be trialling with a 5-30 start and there have been lots of nominations for the event. At 7-00pm the Under 18 boys will be attempting to secure a place in the squad for the forthcoming season.

The Under 16 Boys had their final trial at Brocton FC on Friday night where the standard was very high..The manager Bailey Evans sends this squad and his words regarding the evening. Thanks to Newcastle and Stafford College group who provided protrak for a dozen players who will receive an in depth report from the results once analysed.

'The coaches were very impressed with the standards on show on Friday night at Brocton, and found themselves with a major headache, as several very talented players were in competition in similar positions. Regardless of result, the boys on show should DEFINITELY be back for U18 trials next year. As always, our commiserations go to those not selected this time - the margins were incredibly fine. Thanks to all who came and contributed to an outstanding showcase'.

Congratulations to the following 23 players, who have been selected as part of a PROVISIONAL squad to play in a friendly game against Newcastle College Second XI on Monday 9th September. Following this friendly, a final squad of 20 players will then be announced for the season.

Xander Parke

Greg Lewis

Kyle Curtis

Harry Buzzard

Huw Emery

Harvey Bannister-Smith

Joe Baxter

James Sutton

Louis Pelnans

Morgan Payne

Lewi Burnside

Joe Scriven

Jack Thomas

Jake Finney

Keilan Summerfield

Joe Morley

Charlie Hornby

James May

Morgan Russell

Charlie Pearsall

Eden Bailey

Callum Niven

Demeki Watson

The parents of ALL selected players need to send their name, school, PE teacher and email address to Mr Appleby via the website ASAP. This information will be shared with team managers who can add you to relevant communication groups.

The Association wish to place on record their thanks to all the boys and girls who have attended the trials and to their parents for bringing them along. We are extremely grateful to all, successful or not, as without your efforts Staffordshire Schools FA would not be able to field quality representative teams.

Three trials took place last night, the Under 14 Boys (half of the cohort ) at Stafford Town FC where the standard was excellent. The coaches will not be announcing those selected for the final trial in September until they have seen the rest of the boys next Monday.

The Under 15 Boys trial was held at Brocton FC where the pitches were their usual pristine self and the club gave everyone a warm welcome as it had been some time since we last availed ourselves of the excellent facilities. 15 boys from last weeks trial were joined by the members of last years championship winning side and manager Neil Davies was staggered at the quality of players on display. He and the coaches are still agonising over final selection but and quote'we are bound to have missed someone and made some errors but the final squad will have been selected based on our honest opinion and finding a balanced squad. We thank all who have trialled and if you have missed out come back and prove us wrong next year'.

The big disappointment of the night was the Under 16 Boys trials. 62 boys were expected and extra coaches were brought in to help but just over a third of that number turned up. Only one person had the good manners to inform the organisers that their son would not be attending due to injury. The manager has selcted the following boys to join last years squad at Brocton on Friday `12 th July with a 6-00pm start, for the final trial.

Morley, Joe - Cardinal Griffin
Cooper, Jenson - De Ferrers
Summerfield, Keilan - Walton HS
Bracegirdle, Toby - Biddulph
Scriven, Joseph - Codsall
Pelnans, Louis Codsall
Bristow, Jack - Walton HS
Hornby, Charlie

The Under 14 Boys trials begin tomorrow evening, Monday the 8th of July at Stafford Town FC. As there were so many nominations the dates have been split and all who will trial on the 15th at Brocton FC have been informed by e mail Those not contacted will be in the first group tomorrow evening.

The Under 16 trials follow the first cohort of Under 14 boys at Stafford Town tomorrow night at 7-00pm.

Next Monday, the 15th of July the Under 16 Girls and the U18 boys are at Stafford Town, the girls at 5-30 and the boys at 7-00pm.

So many boys who could play Under 18 football disappear from the pool of players. Colleges and schools which run football courses seem loathe to release boys. Newcastle College, Codsall and Hednesford are the exceptions to this. Tamworth is a hotbed of football but there has not been one Under 18 Boy from there in the past three years at least.

Playing at Under 18 level allows players the chance to play for England Schools and the Midlands region if they are of the required standard. Last season four Staffordshire boys achieved this honour. Players who come out of football Academies and find themselves in mainstrean education post 16 are candidates as are all ex county players.

Boys in sixth forms and colleges up and down the County need to make contact if they think that are good enough to play offering contact details and a brief playing CV. Staffordshire have had great success winning the Midland Counties title regularly but falling short in the nationals and that is one of our aims. Are there players out there who can help achieve those aims.

The number of nominations has now reached three figures. Even taking into account the usual 10% of no shows there are too many boys to look at in a short period of time. Ithas been decided that the two dates allocated means that the group will be split and a final trial will be held early in September.

More details to follow later;

The coaches have named the following girls for the final trial. This will take place at the start of September, time and venue to be confirmed so keep upto date on the website. Staffordshire School'FA wish to thank all girls who trialled and their parents for their support. Congratulations to those who have gone forward and commiserations to those who missed out this time.

Ella Beckett - EDA

Alexia Agnew - King Edward VI Lichfield

Ella-Mae Weaver - Cardinal Griffin

Keira Harman - De Ferrers Academy

Holly Edwards - Clayton Hall Academy

Charlotte Hardwick - Cannock Chase

Evie Galloway - De Ferrers Academy

Steph Bowler - De Ferrers Academy

Millie Curnyn - Rawlett

Lottie MacMurray - EDA

Ruby Evans - EDA

Alice Collie - St Edwards Academy

Caitlyn Disley - St Doms Stone

Isabel Bradbury - Kingsmead

Lily Cooper - King EdwardVI

Ella Cooke - EDA

Ella Smith - EDA

Faith Hill - EDA

Millie Talbot - EDA

Rayah Hardman - St Thomas More

Isobel Edwards - St Thomas More

Katie Parkes - St Thomas More

Molly Spurgin - King Edward VI Lichfield

Phoebe Chadwick - Blythe Bridge

Louise Coates - Haywood Academy

Amelia Kishna - De Ferrers

Chelsea Viggers - Madeley

Phoebe Liddle - Robert Sutton

Holly Bailey - The Kings Kidsgrove

Kady Leigh - St Peters

Freya Green - Great Wyrley Academy

Erin Moreton-Powell - Excel Academy

The two trials took place at Stafford Town FC last night in blustery conditions. There was an excellent turnout for both trials with a very high standard of ability on display. The team managers and coaches, as well as the observers who support the coaches, in the stands had an incredibly difficult job in selection.

Everyone involved knows how flawed the system is but the fact of the matter is that the expense of the hire of facilities linked to the availability of the staff make it the only viable option. It is almost certain that some players will be missed as they had an off night and did not shine for whatever reason. All involved give of their time freely and do the best that they can and in fairness to our coaches the teams selected are always competetive in the Midland Counties and rarely does a season pass without at least one team picking up silverware.

All at SSFA wish to thank players and parents for their attendance last night.

The U15 boys who were successful and who are invited back for final trial are listed below:

Henry Hadgett    STB

Sam Burt   Trentham

Jimmy Cartwright    Codsall

Max Van Der Laan    Clayton

James Miller    Trentham

Shay Corcoran   Westwood

Adam Cockbill    Weston Road

Harry Chesterton   Rawlett

Ben Herrington   Cardinal Griffin

Jack Bostock    King Edward VI

Ruben Cooner   Stafford Grammar

Bradley Clarke   STB

Leo Emery   Ormiston Horizon

Ethan Fenn   Walton

Ryan Thomson   De Ferrers

Ben Runacas   De Ferrers

Jake Darnbrough    BWH

Ollie Boote  Wolgarston

James Plant    Moorside

Liam Davies   Clayton

Callum Griffin   Rawlett

Callum Moore    Paulet

The dates and time for that trial are on the website. The U14 girls will be named as soon as the information is available.

On Monday the 1st July the Under 14 Girls are the first group to start the selection process for the 2019-20 season. The trial begins at 5-30 promptly at Stafford Town FC so players are asked to arrive inplenty of time and ready changed. The pitch is 3G so players will need to have the appropriate footwear.

The response from schools for this trial has been relatively poor with many schools not making nominations, maybe because they do not know the best female footballers. No players from RTC's have been nominated which is very unusual.

The Under 15 Boys are second up with their trial beginning at 7-00pm. This has been well supported and large numbers are expected to attend.

The coaches are looking forward to their potential new recruits. All parents attending need to be aware of the code of conduct as do all players.

The dates for the trials have now been confirmed by Brocton FC and Stafford Town FC.

Unless there are unforseen circumstances then these dates are set in stone. Players need to arrive at least 20 minutes before the allocated time, ready changed They should bring appropriate footwear for the pitches, Stafford 3G and grass at Brocton. All players will be responsible for their own drinks as well as having suitable clothing for the prevailing weather conditions.

Monday 1^st July   Under 14 Girls 5-30 till 7-00pm Stafford Town FC U15 Boys 7-00pm till 8-30pm Stafford Town FC

Monday 8^th July Under 14 Boys  5-30 till 7-00pm Stafford TownU16  Boys 7-00pm till 8-30pm Stafford Town

Monday 15^th July Under 16 Girls 5-30 till 7-00pm Stafford Town  U18 Boys 7-00pm till 8-30pm Stafford Town

Monday 8^th July Under 15 Boys Final Trial Brocton FC 7-00pm

Friday 12^th July U16 Boys Final Trial Brocton FC 6-00pm

Monday 15^th July Under 14 Boys final trial Brocton FC 6-00pm

Only players nominated by their schools will be allowed to trial unless they were part of the previous seasons squad

The nomination forms for season 19-20 will be in schools next week. Only schools can nominate players for trials and these players would be expected to be the best in the school. It would be unusual for a school to have more than two or three boys of a high enough standard in any particular age group.

Players who are at professional clubs are not exempt from trialling and many clubs actively encourage their players to play county football as it gives them competitive experience. Boys from Port Vale, Stoke City, Aston Villa, Burton Albion, Walsall, Shrewsbury Town to name but a few played for Staffordshire last season.

The girls situation is subtly different as so many schools do not run teams for girls and thus many girls who play at a high level are missed out from the trial process simply because the teachers are unaware that they play. Girls who attend or have trialled at an RTC should be attending the trials. Staffordshire have a good record with girls football and County football is an experience that they should not be missing.

The trial will be taking place in early July with a view to teams being ready to play from the beginning of October.The six teams run by the Association have a programme of matches and these will be released in due course and will go on the calendar on this website. Keep up to date by visiting the website and twitter feed regularly.

@staffsschoolsfa will allow all to follow what is going on and will supplement the information available on the website.

Follow the account which is being run by Under 15 team Manager Bailey Evans.